Adventures of the Chosen One(選択される一,Sentaku sa reru ichi?) (The Legend of the One in Western Althena) is an Okaiken animated television series that aired for five seasons on CDS from 2002 to 2010. The series was created and produced by Junichiro Suzuki and Yoshihiro Shimizu, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz. Adventures of the Chosen One is set in an East Althenian-influenced world wherein some are able to manipulate the classical elements by use of psychokinetic variants of Zhungen martial arts known as "bending." The show combined the styles of anime and Shaydian cartoons, and relied for imagery upon various East-Althenian, Samastran and Itzammian societies.

The series follows the adventures of protagonist eleven-year-old Long and his friends, who must bring peace and balance to the world by ending the Fire Lord's war against the other three nations. The pilot episode first aired on February 16, 2002 and the series concluded with a widely praised two-hour episode on March 19, 2010.

Adventures of the Chosen One was popular worldwide with both audiences and critics alike, garnering 5.6 million viewers on its best-rated showing and receiving high ratings in the CDS Early morning lineup, even outside its 12–18-year-old demographic. The series has been nominated for and won awards from the Okaiken Television Awards and a Sumida Award among others. The first season's success prompted CDS to order second, third, fourth and fifth seasons. In other media, the series has spawned a sequel animated film, titled The Legend of the One, directed by John Woo, scaled action figures, a trading card game, five video games based on the 5 seasons and stuffed animals. An art book was also released in mid-2010. Furthermore, the CEO of CDS announced on July 21, 2010 that a sequel would be produced. Revolution: The Chosen One premiered on January 1, 2012.

Series overview

Adventures of the Chosen One takes place in a world home to humans, fantastic animals, and spirits. Human civilization is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Each nation has a distinct society, wherein people known as "benders" have the ability to manipulate and control the element of their nation using the physical motions of martial arts. The show's creators based each bending style on an existing martial art, leading to clear visual and physical differences in the techniques used by Waterbenders (T'ai chi ch'uan), Earthbenders (Hung Ga kung fu, for the most part), Firebenders (Northern Shaolin kung fu) and Airbenders (Baguazhang).

At any given time, there is only one person in the world capable of bending all four elements - the Chosen One (also known as the Avatar). The Chosen One is the divine spiritual entity of the world continuously reborn and reincarnated in human form. When the One dies, this almighty and divine spirit/soul is reborn and reincarnated into the next nation in the Cycle, according to the implied correspondence of seasons to the nations' cultures (Winter/Water Tribe; Spring/Earth Kingdom; Summer/Fire Nation; and Autumn/Air Nomads) and must master each bending art in seasonal order, starting with their own native/birth element. Additionally, the Chosen One possesses an immensely powerful spiritual ability called the Avatar State, which briefly endows them with all of the knowledge and abilities of all past Avatars as a self-triggering defense mechanism, which can be made subject to the will of the user by extensive trial and training in total chakra energy harmony. If an Avatar is killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle is broken, and the Avatar identity will cease to exist. Through the ages, the succeeding Avatars have served to keep a relative equality among the nations; whereas in the story's mythology, the Avatar connects the material to the spiritual world, and vice versa.

Book 1: Air

More than 75 years before the Adventure, the ruler of the Fire Nation, Yun Shiang, planned a World war to expand his territory and to "share the wealth among other nations"; but knowing that his friend Avatar Go would prevent him from doing so, he waited until his death, where the Avatar Spirit would be reincarnated into an Airbender named Long, resident of the Eastern Air Temple.

To determine the chosen one, the Monk Council of the Eastern Air Temple uses toys. Long was discovered to be the Avatar when he chose 4 toys from his past lives. Knowing that he is still too young to determine his fate, the Monk Council decided to reveal his true identity when he is sixteen years old. However, with the Fire Lord threatening to wage war against other nations, the council decided to reveal Long's identity when he was still 13 years old. Long initially accepted the fact that he is the Chosen One, but seeing that his friends started to be jealous of his newly found power, Long became lonely and detached from his friends and his mentors.

As his friends begin to move away from Long, the council decided that it is time for Long to pick his sky bison; Long hesitated at first but agreed to own a flying bison even at a young age. He chose an adolescent sky bison and named him "Jabba". He trained his sky bison until he is fit to ride with multiple people.

As Long finishes his airbending training with the monks, the Fire Nation suddenly attacked the Air Temples using the comet. As a precaution, the monks begged for Long to leave the temples immediately and flee. Long agreed; hoping that he will to see them again soon; he fled on his sky bison to the Earth Kingdom Shores. On the Way to the Earth Kingdom, Long encountered a fierce storm, plummeting him and his sky bison into the sea. Nearly drowned, Long unconsciously activated his Avatar Spirit, and he and his bison became entombed in a ball of air and ice.